Everyday Photography

The Oldest Camera on Mt. Everest

15th February, 2010 - Posted by blazingcircle - 1 Comment

In 1924 Mallory and Irvine were only a few hours from the top of Mount Everest. No one knows for sure if they made it to the top as they both disappeared on the mountain along with a single camera.  In 1999 Mallory’s body was located without the camera. Irvine’s body and the camera has not yet been located.  It is possible the camera contains photographs showing if they reached the summit or not.

Author Tom Holzel, a historian and man who climbed Everest, wrote up a piece years ago about the care and development of the lost camera should it be found.  As a photographer, the steps required are intriguing.

This camera is in one of the most dangerous environments in the world at 27,000 feet and has been there for more than 85 years.  It has seen countless winter storms that make the storms of most of the world seem tame.  It is such a rare place to be that the camera would already have been lost for 29 years before Edmund Hillary would reach the summit.

Even with all the careful handling and processing the photos may be unrecoverable.  Solar radiation or light exposure will destroy film and 85 years of each may be too much.  Retrieving the camera means shielding it from light and carefully packing it in snow and ice and transporting it down the mountain.

A section on developing the film talks about locating an experienced photography studio in Nepal or borrowing diplomatic bags to take the film safely through international airports.  Suggested techniques include soaking it and carefully cutting the film apart, using hypodermic needles or creating vacuums to pull liquid through layers of film in order to successfully separate and develop the film.  The extreme environment would have dried out the film, causing it to stick together.

If the camera could be found and film recovered and successfully developed they would be among the most extreme photographs ever taken.  As a photographer to see these photos successfully developed would be the result of a task equal to climbing the mountain.